Learning Synthesis

There are many songs i would like to play that include 70's and 80's Synth sounds. Is there a way to learn how to mold my sounds to make them sound as close to the sound i am looking for. One example is Rocky 4 training montage and War by Vince DiCola It has a lot of 80's synth sounds also i like a lot of 70's Disco and Funk. I am sure i could just get a backing tracks but i would love to learn how to make my own sounds from scratch!. Are there any books or online resources that you could recommend?

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Thank you!, i was able to buy a tutorial for my Montage and i am willing to put the work in!. After playing organ for many years and piano it feelings like i am learning a new instrument even though they all have keys! . I wasn't looking for an easy way out lol i just thought i would ask if there was any "Synth Bible" that all you guys go to lol.
Cheers Gary!

There are a few college level textbooks written in the 70's and 80's available on Amazon, but they are really dated and refer to a lot of obsolete hardware.

I'm sure if you google "Sound Synthesis Tutorials" on Youtube and the web in general you'll find better, more up to date material than those few books which have been written on the subject decades ago.

Start with an existing sound that's close to what you want, save it as a user patch, then play with the parameters in the FM synth engine until it sounds right.

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Chris, I can't over emphasise what a good piece of advice this is from Gary.

Playing 100% covers these days, a big part of what I do is attempting to get the sounds as close to the original as possible so the audience have that sense of familiarity with what we're playing.

I found the easiest way to learn sound design is to start with something close, play with the various parameters and see what they do. From looking at what the manufacturer has preset, you'll start to notice patterns and what settings make what noises. Even now, it's exceptionally rare I'll build a sound completely from scratch, even after 25+ years' experience - work smarter, not harder I say!

One last tip. Don't overlook the effects. You'd be surprised how much heavy lifting effects do when it comes to creating iconic sounds.

Chris, I can't over emphasise what a good piece of advice this is from Gary.

Playing 100% covers these days, a big part of what I do is attempting to get the sounds as close to the original as possible so the audience have that sense of familiarity with what we're playing.

I found the easiest way to learn sound design is to start with something close, play with the various parameters and see what they do. From looking at what the manufacturer has preset, you'll start to notice patterns and what settings make what noises. Even now, it's exceptionally rare I'll build a sound completely from scratch, even after 25+ years' experience - work smarter, not harder I say!

One last tip. Don't overlook the effects. You'd be surprised how much heavy lifting effects do when it comes to creating iconic sounds.

Good luck!

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Thank you for the advise!, i now have a direction to go in and understand where to start which it great.

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